The Financial Aid Award Offer

You will receive an email notification when your Official Financial Aid Award Offer is available. Award Offers are only available for viewing online at MyCSULB, under “Award Summary.”

The Financial Aid Offer

Your Award Summary on MyCSULB lists all the sources of financial aid you are eligible to receive for the academic year, as well as a term/semester specific breakdown of your awards. For detailed information on each type of award refer to “Types of Financial Aid.”

Awards offered are based on the information you submitted on your financial aid application (either the FAFSA or the California Dream Act Application) – and may consist of grants, scholarships, loans, and/or federal work study – depending on your eligibility. For an overview of how an award offer is determined, including factors that determine types of awards and amounts, refer to our “How Your Awards Are Determined” page.

If you are receiving additional funding from other sources, such as scholarships from non-CSULB sources, we are required by the Federal and California State Student Aid Regulations to consider these resources when determining your awards. If all sources of funding do not show on your award offer, you must notify our office in writing of the amount and source of the award.

The Financial Aid Shopping Sheet (FAFSA FILERS ONLY)

CSU Long Beach provides all FAFSA filers who are awarded financial aid with access to a Financial Aid Shopping Sheet.

The Financial Aid Shopping Sheet is a standardized form from the U.S. Department of Education that provides a simplified overview of your college costs and financial aid. The Sheet displays your available financial aid, net costs, and how much you should expect to pay out-of-pocket. The Shopping Sheet can be saved or printed for future reference.

We suggest reviewing your Financial Aid Shopping Sheet immediately after accessing your Award Summary. The shopping sheet is useful for both admitted as well as continuing CSULB students as it presents all information about financial aid and net costs in one document.

Newly Admitted Students: The Shopping Sheet can also be used to help do a side-by-side comparison of the net costs of various institutions.

Please note, the awards and net costs displayed on the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet are based on the information available at the time you are viewing the sheet. If there are adjustments to your awards, or net costs, the information on your shopping sheet will also be updated.

View My Shopping Sheet:To view your Shopping Sheet, click on the Shopping Sheet button in the top right corner of the Award Summary page (on MyCSULB).

Accepting Your Award Offer

After viewing your Financial Aid Award Summary, you will need to take action on your awards before they can be released and credited towards your CSULB charges (you can either accept or decline your awards).

If you are not sure if you want to accept a particular award, such as a loan, you may delay making a decision on that award until later. Please note, however, that some awards have limited funding available. Delaying your acceptance of awards (other than Direct Loans) may subject the award to cancellation in the event funding is depleted.

FAFSA Filers: If you have a Direct Loan as part of your award offer, you are not required to accept the maximum amount offered. You may choose to either accept the full amount, a lesser amount, or decline the loan. Refer to the Accept/Decline Awards guide for details.

PLEASE NOTE: Amounts shown on your award offer are based on FULL-TIME enrollment . (12 units per semester for undergraduate and credential students). If you are not enrolled full-time at the time your funds are released, your award amounts may be adjusted. Review the information on How Enrollment Impacts Financial Aid for more details.

CSU Long Beach provides all financial aid refunds through a secure, automated deposit directly to your checking or savings account. This process is called eRefund, and all financial aid recipients are required to enroll.

If you are not currently signed up for eRefund, please visit MyCSULB to complete the process which usually takes less than 3 minutes. You will need to have your account Routing Transit number and Account number, both of which can be located on your check or savings deposit slip. Refer to the eRefund Guide for details on how to sign up.

PLEASE BE AWARE: Failure to sign up for eRefund in a timely manner will significantly delay your receipt of funds. Until sign up is completed, you will receive a paper refund check mailed to your address on file in MyCSULB. It normally takes at least 10 to 15 business days to receive a physical check. eRefund is a much timelier and secure method as funds are typically available in your bank account within 48 hours.